Join our Restaurant Roundtable
Dufferin County, along with Restaurants Canada, is hosting a virtual Restaurant Roundtable for local stakeholders.⁠ The conversation will cover financial supports, vaccine passports, workforce challenges, and mental health in the workplace as it relates to restauranteurs & their teams.⁠
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WHEN: Wed, Nov 24, 10:30-11:30 AM⁠
WHERE: Via Zoom⁠
COST: Free ⁠

Is your restaurant safe and healthy?
⁠Did you know: 90% of Ontario restaurant workers struggle with mental health and substance abuse challenges. Join Hassel Aviles of non-profit foodservice group Not 9 to 5 to discuss the challenges facing the hospitality industry, and how better mental well-being at work can lead to a healthier business model overall.⁠ ⁠
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WHEN: Tues, Nov 9, 7-8 PM⁠
WHERE: Via Zoom⁠
COST: Free ⁠

Share your experience with COVID-19
Has COVID-19 changed the way you behave or work? How you socialize? Has it had an impact on your health or daily life? We want to hear from you. ⁠

Dufferin County is participating in a University of Guelph research project to determine how the pandemic has impacted rural and small urban communities, particularly residents’ employment⁠, wellbeing,⁠ social behavior⁠ and daily life⁠.
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This information will be used to shape future programming, as we work towards recovery from this unprecedented time.⁠

Is the Jobs and Growth Fund right for you?
FedDev Ontario is investing $224 million to help job creators and the organizations that support them to future-proof their businesses. The fund, delivered by Canada's regional development agencies (RDAs), provides $700 million nationally over three years, which includes up to $70 million dedicated to businesses created after January 2020 that meet eligibility criteria. 

Eligible applicants:

• Businesses, including co-operatives
• Not-for-profit organizations and community economic development partners

Indigenous applicants:

• Indigenous-led organizations and/or businesses are strongly encouraged to apply
• Under the initiative, RDAs may contribute up to 100% of eligible project costs for projects with Indigenous clients

Eligible activities:

• Activities that support the transition to a green economy
• Activities that foster an inclusive recovery
• Activities that preserve Canada's competitiveness and future-proof SMEs through digital adoption
• Activities that strengthen capacity in sectors critical to Canada's recovery and growth

• November 9, 2021, 2-3 pm
• November 16, 2021, 2-3 pm

Get up to $150,000 with O-AMP
The Ontario Automotive Modernization Program (O-AMP) is a partnership with small- and medium-sized automotive parts suppliers in Ontario. Your business could get up to $150,000 to help cover up to 50% of eligible project costs. As a successful applicant, you are required to contribute at least 50% of remaining project costs through:

• your own business resources
• private or bank financing

Deadline to apply extended! 
The final date to apply for the Digital Transformation grant has been extended to 
November 30, 2021. 

Focused on assisting small businesses with their adoption of technologies, the Digital Transformation Grant will provide funding for training, advisory support, and grants to brick-and-mortar small businesses looking increase their capacity through digital transformation. The program provides businesses with a digital assessment, online training and a one-time $2,500 grant to implement their digital transformation plan.

The Young Aboriginal Entrepreneur award
The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and ESS Support Services Worldwide have launched The Young Aboriginal Entrepreneur Award, an initiative that spotlights Aboriginal business leaders under the age of 35 and celebrates impressive young entrepreneurs who are driving the Aboriginal economy forward.

The award comes with a $10,000 cash prize.

Eligibility Criteria

• Be a Canadian resident of First Nation (Status or Non-Status), Inuit or Métis ancestry under the age of 35
• Self-employed for a minimum of one year
• Submit a 30-60 second video about you and your business (be creative)

Nominations open October 1, 2021 and close November 26, 2021. 

Ontario investing in livestock sector's future
The Ontario government is investing in two projects at Ontario Research Centres in Elora to foster innovation in Ontario’s livestock industry and support economic growth across rural Ontario.

With $14.4 million from the Government of Ontario and $3.6 million from Ontario Pork, construction is now underway on a new $18 million swine research facility that will use state-of-the-art technology to build Ontario’s capacity and expertise to support cutting-edge research that drives innovation in the swine sector and contributes to the sector’s competitiveness and productivity. In addition, the governments of Canada and Ontario are advancing beef nutritional research with an investment of $1.3 million through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership) at the Ontario Beef Research Centre.

$2.76M going to agri-food research innovation
The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing $2.76 million through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership in Ontario-led agri-food research to develop new innovative technologies, practices, and solutions to make the sector more competitive and resilient.

Agri-food research is an important part of Ontario’s plan to bring new technologies and processes to market and address existing issues and gaps in the food supply chain. The Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) is supporting 21 projects that provide Ontarians with safer, healthier, and more locally grown and made food items while boosting trade and rural economic development.

Call for Curiosity 2022: Farmer-led research
The Ecological Farmer's Association of Ontario's Farmer-led research program is designed to help farmers combine their curiosity with scientific rigour and answer their most challenging on-farm questions. Their 2022 Call for Curiosity invites Ontario farmers to get involved. Working with your farm systems and goals, farmer-led research helps you assess the ecological and economic impacts of your innovations, ideas, and comparisons. 

Ontario government lifts capacity limits for organized events outdoors
The Ontario government will begin allowing large-scale organized events outdoors immediately, paving the way for full capacity Remembrance Day ceremonies and Santa Claus parades in the coming weeks.

The regulatory amendments, which were approved on Oct 27, effectively lift the capacity limits for all organized public events held outdoors so long as attendees wear masks when a physical distance of two metres cannot be maintained.

The amendments also remove the outdoor capacity limits in the handful of sectors where they had remained. - From CTV news

Restaurateurs, unite 
Dufferin restaurateurs are invited to take part in Restaurant Canada's "Restaurant Survival Coalition." To participate, click this link to submit a video sharing your story about how the pandemic has impacted your business and life. These videos will be used via a social media campaign, aimed to shine a light on the continued need for support in the hospitality sector, as a result of Covid-19. More support for restaurateurs interested in raising their voice to increase government support for local restaurants can be found by downloading this Restaurant Toolkit.

Get involved in Dufferin Days!
Dufferin Days is the Dufferin Board of Trade’s new shop local campaign supporting businesses across the county and encouraging consumers to think "local, think Dufferin." 

With Dufferin Days, you can have free social media features, video opportunities, signage, promotion and more! 

Climate stories of Dufferin
Explore the stories across Dufferin that transform the science of climate change into the real experiences and emotions that make this issue truly LOCAL. 

From the placed- based impacts to creative solutions, these stories invite us to meet the climate crisis with compassion for the planet and one another. 

National Housing Day - Nov 22
November 22nd is National Housing Day. This day recognizes local champions who work in the housing and homelessness sector, acknowledges and understands the gains still needing to be made, and overall, improves access to housing for everyone. Are you concerned about housing and homelessness in our community? Wondering how you can be involved?

Please help Dufferin County by providing your feedback before November 23rd.